National Doughnut Day: Free doughnuts in Seattle

U.S. Servicemen enjoy doughnuts and coffee at a Salvation Army USO club. (Two dates were provided for this image from Getty: circa 1930 and circa 1942).

Did you know that Friday’s “National Doughnut Day” began during the Great Depression, in honor of female Salvation Army volunteers who served doughnuts to World War I soldiers?

And that it didn’t start as a way for Krispy Kreme to make you fatter?

Me neither.

Now for free doughnuts: They’re available at Krispy Kremes in Seattle. Over at Top Pot, there’s a contest to win a dozen doughnuts a month for a year. Sun Liquor Distillery is also doing “Top Pot burger” in honor of everyone’s fried dough day.

Brothers Michael and Mark Klebeck started Top Pot Doughnuts in 2002, using a 1920s doughnut recipe and selling them in their Zeitgeist coffee shop in Capitol Hill.

Brothers Michael and Mark Klebeck started Top Pot Doughnuts in 2002, using a 1920s doughnut recipe and selling them in their Zeitgeist coffee shop in Capitol Hill.

Photo: Seattle Post-Intelligencer / SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER

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Top Pot's original Capitol Hill shop, still on Summit Avenue, features a neon sign from the '40s. It came from a Chinese restaurant called Topspot. The ''S'' broke when the sign was moved, and the Klebecks replaced it with the neon coffeepot. less

Top Pot's original Capitol Hill shop, still on Summit Avenue, features a neon sign from the '40s. It came from a Chinese restaurant called Topspot. The ''S'' broke when the sign was moved, and the Klebecks ... more

Photo: seattlepi.com file

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When Top Pot opened in Belltown in 2003, excitement was high. Wrote then-P.I. restaurant critic Penelope Corcoran: ''My heart soars and my hands tremble to know that Top Pot's world headquarters is 'coming soon' to a neighborhood just a little too near to where I work.''
Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/apwong/5741692919/''>apwong</a> via Creative Commons Flickr less

When Top Pot opened in Belltown in 2003, excitement was high. Wrote then-P.I. restaurant critic Penelope Corcoran: ''My heart soars and my hands tremble to know that Top Pot's world headquarters is 'coming ... more

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With a vintage vibe, Top Pot cafes are an antidote to fast-food shops with bad lighting. The Belltown store has a modernist, 1940s feel and cool vertical sign. Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/tadsonbussey/3158233814/'>Tadson</a> via Creative Commons Flickr less

With a vintage vibe, Top Pot cafes are an antidote to fast-food shops with bad lighting. The Belltown store has a modernist, 1940s feel and cool vertical sign. Photo by <a ... more

Photo: Photo by <a href=

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Top Pot doughnuts are available in 68 QFCs from Stanwood to Portland. Why are they cheaper at QFC than in a Top Pot shop? They’re slighter smaller at QFC, says Klebeck. And you can’t get all the varieties.

Top Pot doughnuts are available in 68 QFCs from Stanwood to Portland. Why are they cheaper at QFC than in a Top Pot shop? They’re slighter smaller at QFC, says Klebeck. And you can’t get all the varieties.

Photo: Vanessa Ho / seattlepi.com

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Top Pot opened its latest cafe, in Bellevue Square, in 2012. For years, Top Pot only had three shops. (Cap Hill, Belltown, Wedgwood). It now has 14 locations.

Top Pot opened its latest cafe, in Bellevue Square, in 2012. For years, Top Pot only had three shops. (Cap Hill, Belltown, Wedgwood). It now has 14 locations.

Sometimes, promotion happens when you don't expect it. After Seahawks rookie Golden Tate was arrested for stealing maple bars from a Bellevue Top Pot during a 3 a.m. craving, maple bars sold out, and Top Pot released this ad. Photos by Getty Images (left) and Jon Ferrari (right). less

Sometimes, promotion happens when you don't expect it. After Seahawks rookie Golden Tate was arrested for stealing maple bars from a Bellevue Top Pot during a 3 a.m. craving, maple bars sold out, and Top Pot ... more

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President Obama visited Top Pot’s Belltown store in 2010, where he bought a couple dozen and ate what looked like a glazed old-fashioned. But he quickly cautioned, “You can’t eat these everyday.”

President Obama visited Top Pot’s Belltown store in 2010, where he bought a couple dozen and ate what looked like a glazed old-fashioned. But he quickly cautioned, “You can’t eat these everyday.”

Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP/Getty Images

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Remember a time before cake pops and petite scones appeared at Starbucks? When the coffee shops sold Top Pot doughnuts? That ended in 2011. Here's a tray of them at a Starbucks shareholders meeting in 2009. less

Remember a time before cake pops and petite scones appeared at Starbucks? When the coffee shops sold Top Pot doughnuts? That ended in 2011. Here's a tray of them at a Starbucks shareholders meeting in ... more

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For people who can't make it through a Seahawks or Sounders game without sugar and caffeine: Top Pot became the official doughnuts and coffee provider for <s>Qwest</s> CenturyLink Field in 2010. Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/verybadlady/4463204007/'>
HeatherHeatherHeather</a>, Flickr. less

For people who can't make it through a Seahawks or Sounders game without sugar and caffeine: Top Pot became the official doughnuts and coffee provider for <s>Qwest</s> CenturyLink Field in 2010. Photo by <a ... more

Photo: Photo by <a href=

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If the many places to get a Top Pot doughnut aren't enough, you can make your own. The company's cookbook is now on its second printing. Photo via Top Pot.

If the many places to get a Top Pot doughnut aren't enough, you can make your own. The company's cookbook is now on its second printing. Photo via Top Pot.

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Last year, Klebeck said a franchise plan would likely start in midtown Manhattan. Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/galant/2597237657/'>thebittenword.com</a>, Flickr.

Last year, Klebeck said a franchise plan would likely start in midtown Manhattan. Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/galant/2597237657/'>thebittenword.com</a>, Flickr.

Photo: Photo by <a href=

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Top Pot's third store, in Wedgwood, is at a former service station. It's known for its giant, rooftop doughnut and palm trees that don't mind Seattle's gloomy weather. (They're frost-resistant). Photo by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/aphid00/6908709960/'>Dave Sizer</a>, Flickr. less

Top Pot's third store, in Wedgwood, is at a former service station. It's known for its giant, rooftop doughnut and palm trees that don't mind Seattle's gloomy weather. (They're frost-resistant). Photo by <a ... more

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Top Pot's original store

Top Pot's original store

Photo: GRANT M. HALLER

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Mark Klebeck, a co-founder of Top Pot Doughnuts. Photo by Libby Klebeck.

Mark Klebeck, a co-founder of Top Pot Doughnuts. Photo by Libby Klebeck.